Beam configuration management service

ABSTRACT

A method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium are described in which beam configuration management service is provided. A network device of a wireless access network provides the service that includes identifying redundant configurations across carriers associated with a cell group, and links the common beam configurations to these carriers. The service also includes identifying any difference in beam configurations relative to the common beam configurations for a carrier. The service may transmit this beam configuration information in a control plane message to an end device. The end device may use the beam configuration information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/371,731, entitled “BEAM CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT SERVICE”and filed on Apr. 1, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Development and design of radio access networks (RAN) and core networkspresent certain challenges from a network-side perspective and an enddevice perspective. For example, depending on the configurations fromboth network-side and end device-side perspectives, such configurationsmay reduce the effective use of resources. Accordingly, a need exists toovercome these challenges.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment in which anexemplary embodiment of a beam configuration management service may beimplemented;

FIGS. 2A-2E are diagrams illustrating an exemplary process of anexemplary embodiment of the beam configuration management service;

FIGS. 3A-3D are diagrams illustrating another exemplary process of anexemplary embodiment of the beam configuration management service;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of a device thatmay correspond to one or more of the devices illustrated and describedherein;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process of anexemplary embodiment of the beam configuration management service; and

FIG. 6 is another flow diagram illustrating another exemplary process ofan exemplary embodiment of the beam configuration management service.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the sameor similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does notlimit the invention.

A wireless network should support various use cases, meet variousperformance metrics, allow for scalability and flexibility, and provideoptimal use of network resources (e.g., over-the-air, physical, logical,virtual). Additionally, an end device may support various use cases(e.g., enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latencycommunication (URLLC), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), etc.)and provide optimal use of end device-side resources.

For an end device to acquire wireless service of a network, the enddevice has to establish a wireless connection (e.g., a Radio ResourceControl (RRC) connection) with a RAN, and may authenticate, register,and establish a bearer with a core network. With future wireless accesstechnologies under development, such as Fifth Generation (5G), narrowbeams may be formed with millimeter wave (mmWave) radio frequency (RF)carriers that may provide a link budget gain required to sustain serviceperformance (e.g., coverage, capacity, user throughput, etc.) and toensure the number of new radio (NR) cell sites is feasible fordeployment.

However, narrower beam widths relative to legacy radio technologies(e.g., Fourth Generation (4G), 4.5G, etc.) can result in a larger numberof beams (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) beams, refinementbeams, etc.) for each mmWave carrier. As a result, beam managementinformation communicated to an end device, via a message (e.g., an RRCmessage), may be increased due to the large number of beams. Further,for example, in view of the large bandwidth using mmWave bands, theremay be a number of component carriers (e.g., 8, 10, 12, etc.) in NRcarrier aggregation (CA), which can further contribute to an increase inthe size of the message that includes beam configuration information.

Given the large number and size of RRC signaling messages, suchmessaging can negatively impact the network. For example, such messagingincreases the control signaling overhead on the network, which in turnreduces the number of bits available for end device traffic. Also, suchmessaging can significantly reduce the control signaling capacity of thenetwork. Since control signaling capacity is finite, such largesignaling (e.g., in terms of size and number) will reduce the number ofend devices that can be served by the network and/or cause signalingdelays. In the case of Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access-NewRadio (E-UTRA-NR) Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) deployment, these signalingmessages may be transmitted via a Long Term Evolution (LTE) carrier, andwill further congest the LTE carrier.

According to exemplary embodiments, a beam configuration managementservice is described. According to an exemplary embodiment, a wirelessstation of a wireless access network includes logic that provides thebeam configuration management service. According to an exemplaryembodiment, the wireless station selects beam configuration informationfor wireless resources based on network configuration and end devicecapability information. According to an exemplary embodiment, the beamconfiguration management service uses a control plane message totransmit bean configuration information to end devices. For example, thecontrol plane message may include one or multiple information elements(Ws) that include beam configuration information, as described herein.

According to an exemplary implementation, the control plane message isan RRC message. According to another exemplary implementation, thecontrol plane message is a system information block (SIB) message.According to yet exemplary implementation, the control plane message isanother type of message that may be transmitted to an end device as apart of procedure (e.g., a handover procedure, etc.) subsequent to anattachment procedure. According to various exemplary embodiments, beamconfiguration information may be transmitted to the end device using oneor multiple messages. Additionally, according to various exemplaryembodiments, beam configuration information may be linked betweenmultiple messages transmitted to the end device, as described herein.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the beam configuration managementservice includes a control plane message that indicates a beamconfiguration for a carrier of a wireless station is the same as thebeam configuration of another carrier. For example, the control planemessage may indicate a beam configuration of a secondary serving cell isthe same as a beam configuration of a primary cell. For purposes ofdescription, a cell may be considered a carrier or a combination of acarrier and wireless service area (e.g., cell sector).

According to an exemplary embodiment, the beam configuration managementservice includes a control plane message that indicates a differencebetween a beam configuration of a primary cell relative to a secondarycell. For example, the control plane message may include one or multipleparameters and corresponding values pertaining to the secondary cellthat are different from the primary cell.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the beam configuration managementservice includes a control plane message that indicates a beamconfiguration of a secondary cell is the same or similar to a beamconfiguration of another secondary cell. The beam configuration of thesecondary cell may be different from the primary cell.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the beam configuration managementservice includes a control plane message that indicates a default beamconfiguration for multiple cells. For example, the control plane messagemay include beam management information that is the same or similarrelative to multiple carriers. According to an exemplary embodiment, thebeam configuration management service includes a control plane messagethat indicates a difference in beam configuration relative to thedefault beam configuration.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the beam configuration managementservice selects a beam management configuration based on networkconfiguration and end device capability information, as describedherein. For example, the network configuration may include transmissionconfiguration indicator (TCI) data, quasi-colocation (QCL) data, channelstate information-reference signal (CSI-RS) resource data, and/or othertypes of data pertaining to beam management. End device capabilityinformation may include data pertaining to the radio capabilities of theend device (e.g., carriers supported, CA capabilities, TCI statessupported, etc.).

According to an exemplary embodiment, the beam configuration managementservice includes the end device receiving the control plane message, andusing the beam configuration information to obtain wireless service viathe RAN, as described herein.

As a result, the beam configuration management service may improvenetwork resource utilization in a network. For example, the beamconfiguration management service may improve the use of various networkresources (e.g., physical, logical, virtual) in relation to networkdevices of a RAN or network devices of the RAN and a core network basedon the reduction of messages being transmitted and received regardingbeam configuration information to the end device. Additionally, the beamconfiguration management service may improve resource utilization at theend device for similar reasons.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment 100 in whichan exemplary embodiment of the beam configuration management service maybe implemented. As illustrated, environment 100 includes an accessnetwork 105 and a core network 150. Access network 105 includes accessdevices 110, and core network 150 includes core devices 155. Environment100 further includes an end device 180.

The number, the type, and the arrangement of network devices in accessnetwork 105 and core network 150, as illustrated and described, areexemplary. The number of end devices 180 is exemplary. A network device,a network element, or a network function (referred to herein simply as anetwork device) may be implemented according to one or multiple networkarchitectures (e.g., a client device, a server device, a peer device, aproxy device, a cloud device, a virtualized function, and/or anothertype of network architecture (e.g., Software Defined Networking (SDN),virtual, logical, network slicing, etc.). Additionally, a network devicemay be implemented according to various computing architectures, such ascentralized, distributed, cloud (e.g., elastic, public, private, etc.),edge, fog, and/or another type of computing architecture.

Environment 100 includes communication links between the networkdevices, and between end device 180 and network devices. Environment 100may be implemented to include wired, optical, and/or wirelesscommunication links among the network devices and the networksillustrated. A communicative connection via a communication link may bedirect or indirect. For example, an indirect communicative connectionmay involve an intermediary device and/or an intermediary network notillustrated in FIG. 1 . A direct communicative connection may notinvolve an intermediary device and/or an intermediary network. Thenumber and the arrangement of communication links illustrated inenvironment 100 are exemplary.

Access network 105 may include one or multiple networks of one ormultiple types and technologies. For example, access network 105 mayinclude a 4G RAN, a 4.5G RAN, a 5G RAN, and/or another type of futuregeneration RAN. By way of further example, access network 105 may beimplemented to include an Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network(E-UTRAN) of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced(LTE-A) network, and/or an LTE-A Pro network, a next generation (NG)RAN, and/or another type of RAN (e.g., a legacy RAN). Access network 105may further include other types of wireless networks, such as a WiFinetwork, a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)network, a local area network (LAN), or another type of network that mayprovide an on-ramp to access devices 110 and/or core network 150.

According to various exemplary embodiments, access network 105 may beimplemented to include various architectures of wireless service, suchas, for example, macrocell, microcell, femtocell, picocell, metrocell,NR cell, LTE cell, non-cell, or another type of cell architecture.Additionally, according to various exemplary embodiments, access network105 may be implemented according to various wireless technologies (e.g.,radio access technology (RAT), etc.), wireless standards, wirelessfrequencies/bands, and so forth.

Access network 105 may include different and multiple functionalsplitting, such as options 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 that relate tocombinations of access network 105 and core network 150 including anEvolved Packet Core (EPC) network and/or a NG core (NGC) network, or thesplitting of the various layers (e.g., physical layer, Media AccessControl (MAC) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Packet DataConvergence Control (PDCP) layer), plane splitting (e.g., user plane,control plane, etc.), centralized unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU),interface splitting (e.g., F1-U, F1-C, E1, Xn-C, Xn-U, X2-C, CommonPublic Radio Interface (CPRI), etc.) as well as other types of networkservices, such as dual connectivity (DC) or higher (e.g., a secondarycell group (SCG) split bearer service, a master cell group (MCG) splitbearer, an SCG bearer service, non-standalone (NSA), standalone (SA),etc.), CA (e.g., intra-band, inter-band, contiguous, non-contiguous,etc.), network slicing, coordinated multipoint (CoMP), various duplexschemes (e.g., frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex(TDD), half-duplex FDD (H-FDD), etc.), and/or another type ofconnectivity service.

Depending on the implementation, access network 105 may include one ormultiple types of network devices, such as access devices 110. Forexample, access devices 110 may include an evolved Node B (eNB), a nextgeneration Node B (gNB), an evolved Long Term Evolution (eLTE) eNB, aradio network controller (RNC), a remote radio head (RRH), a basebandunit (BBU), a small cell node (e.g., a picocell device, a femtocelldevice, a microcell device, a home eNB, a repeater, etc.)), or anothertype of wireless node. According to an exemplary embodiment, accessdevice 110 includes logic that provides the beam configurationmanagement service, as described herein.

Core network 150 may include one or multiple networks of one or multipletypes and technologies. According to an exemplary embodiment, corenetwork 150 includes a complementary network of access network 105. Forexample, core network 150 may be implemented to include an EPC of anLTE, a core network of an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, a core networkof an LTE-A Pro network, and/or a next generation core (NGC) network.Core network 150 may include a legacy core network.

Depending on the implementation, core network 150 may include varioustypes of network devices, such as core devices 155. According to anexemplary embodiment, one or multiple core devices 155 include logicthat provides the policy delivery service, as described herein. Forexample, core devices 155 may include a mobility management entity(MME), a packet gateway (PGW), a serving gateway (SGW), a homesubscriber server (HSS), an authentication, authorization, andaccounting (AAA) server, a policy charging and rules function (PCRF), acharging system (CS), a user plane function (UPF), an access andmobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF),a unified data management (UDM) device, an authentication serverfunction (AUSF), a network slice selection function (NSSF), a networkrepository function (NRF), a policy control function (PCF), and soforth. According to other exemplary implementations, core devices 155may include additional, different, and/or fewer network devices thanthose described.

End device 180 includes a device that has computational and wirelesscommunication capabilities. Depending on the implementation, end device180 may be a mobile device, a portable device, a stationary device, adevice operated by a user, or a device not operated by a user. Forexample, end device 180 may be implemented as a Mobile Broadband device,a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, an Internet of Things (IoT)device, an enhanced MTC device (eMTC) (also known as Cat-M1), aNarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) device, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, auser device, or other types of wireless end nodes. By way of furtherexample, end device 180 may be implemented as a smartphone, a personaldigital assistant, a tablet, a netbook, a phablet, a wearable device(e.g., a watch, glasses, etc.), a set top box, an infotainment system ina vehicle, a vehicle support system, a smart television, a game system,a music playing system, or other types of wireless end devices. Enddevice 180 may be configured to execute various types of software (e.g.,applications, programs, etc.). The number and the types of software mayvary among end devices 180.

End device 180 may support one or multiple RATs (e.g., 4G, 5G, etc.) andvarious portions of the radio spectrum (e.g., multiple frequency bands,multiple carrier frequencies, licensed, unlicensed, etc.). Additionally,end device 180 may include one or multiple communication interfaces thatprovide one or multiple (e.g., simultaneous) connections via the same ordifferent RATs, frequency bands, and so forth. The multimodecapabilities of end device 180 may vary among end devices 180. Accordingto an exemplary embodiment, end device 180 includes logic that providesthe beam configuration management service, as described herein.

FIGS. 2A-2E are diagrams illustrating an exemplary process of anexemplary embodiment of the beam configuration management service. Asillustrated, an environment 200, which is consistent with environment100, access network 105 includes an eNB 205 and gNB 210. For purposes ofdescription in relation to the beam management service and DC, such asNSA EN-DC, NE-DC, and SA NR-NR DC, a special cell (e.g., SpCell) mayrefer to the primary cell (PCell) of an MCG, or a primary secondary cell(PSCell) of an SCG. Alternatively, in a non-DC context, SpCell may referto the PCell. FIGS. 2A-2E relate to an exemplary NSA scenario. However,as described herein, the beam configuration management service may beused in a SA context.

Referring to FIG. 2A, eNB 205 may be a master node, and gNB 210 may be asecondary node. According to an exemplary scenario, assume that enddevice 180 establishes an RRC connection with eNB 205 based on an RRCConnection Establishment procedure 215. Thereafter, eNB 205 may performa secondary node addition procedure with gNB 210 to add a NR cell to theLTE cell. For example, eNB 205 may generate and transmit an additionrequest to gNB 210. Referring to FIG. 2B, in response to receiving theaddition request, gNB 210 may calculate beam configuration for enddevice 180 based on network configuration and end device capabilityinformation 220. gNB 210 may obtain end device capability informationpertaining to end device 180 from eNB 205 or from core device 155. gNB210 may calculate network configuration information based on end devicemeasurement reports, pre-configured network parameters, channel stateinformation, and other relevant information used by RRC logic at accessdevice 110.

As previously described, according to various exemplary embodiments, thebeam configuration management service includes various control planemessages that provide beam configuration. In this regard, gNB 210 mayselect beam configurations for all carriers based on the networkconfiguration and end device capability information.

According to an exemplary embodiment, if the configurations are the samewithin a cell group, gNB 210 may configure a SpCell with a full beamconfiguration, and link secondary cell configuration(s) to the SpCellconfiguration. For example, beam management IEs for a secondary servingcell may not need to be sent, but simply linked to a primary cellconfiguration. By way of further example, the linking between theprimary cell and one or multiple secondary serving cells may beexpressed by a single bit or another data instance (e.g., multiplebits). Below is an exemplary representation of data that may be includedin a control plane message that links primary and secondary cellconfigurations that are the same (also referred to as message 1).

Beam-Management IE A/B/C/... { linkToSpCell Type: Boolean List of BeamManagement Configurations: (present when linkToSpCell is false) }

According to another exemplary embodiment, if some configurations arethe same for multiple cells, gNB 210 may configure a SpCell andsecondary cell(s) based on message 1 described above, as well as includea delta configuration for a remaining portion of the configuration thisis different between the SpCell and the secondary cell. That is, thecontrol plane message may modify or add a beam configuration pertainingto a secondary cell included message 1. Below is an exemplaryrepresentation of data that may be included in a control plane messagethat modifies or adds a configuration of a secondary cell (also referredto as message 2).

Beam-Management IE A/B/C ... { linkToSpCell: True Remove { List ofSpCell Beam management configurations that SCell has differentconfiguration than SpCell; } Add or Modify { List of SCell Beammanagement configurations that SCell has different configuration thanSpCell; } }

According to yet another exemplary embodiment, if the configurations arethe same or similar among the secondary cells, but are different fromthe SpCell configuration, gNB 210 may configure secondary cells thathave the same or similar configurations. For example, gNB 210 may link asecondary cell configuration to another secondary cell (e.g., of aparticular serving cell identifier) (also referred to as message 3).

Beam-Management IE A/B/C ... { linkToSpCell Type: Boolean linkToAnyCell:Type: Integer for Serving Cell ID (not present when linkToSpCell isTrue) List of Beam Management configurations (present when linkToSpCellis False and linkToAnyCell is not present) //Below are optionallypresent when either linkToSpCell is True or linkToAnyCell is presentRemove { List of Beam management configurations on the linkedSpCell/SCell that a SCell has a different configuration with; } Add orModify { List of Beam management configurations on a SCell that theSCell has a different configuration than the linked SpCell/SCell; } }

According to an exemplary embodiment of the beam configurationmanagement service, gNB 210 may select the configuration of message 2 ormessage 3 depending on whether the secondary cell is linked to SpCell.According to various exemplary embodiments, gNB 210 may select multiplemessages and various combinations of these messages to configurecarriers/cells, as described herein.

Referring to FIG. 2C, gNB 210 may generate and transmit a message, whichincludes the beam configuration information 225, to eNB 205. Accordingto an exemplary implementation, the message may be included in anaddition request acknowledgment message associated with the secondarynode addition procedure. According to other exemplary implementations,the message may be that is not part of the secondary node additionprocedure.

Referring to FIG. 2D, in response to receiving the message, eNB 205 mayinvoke an RRC Connection Reconfiguration procedure. For example, eNB 205may generate and transmit an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message,which includes the beam configuration information 230, to end device180. The RRC Reconfiguration message 232 may include one or multiple IEsthat provide beam configuration for carriers, as described herein. Enddevice 180 may receive the RRC Reconfiguration message 235.

Referring to FIG. 2E, in response to receiving the RRC Reconfigurationmessage, end device 180 includes logic of the beam configurationmanagement service to extract and use the beam configuration informationto configure beam management functions 240. For example, end device 180may analyze and use the beam management configuration for all carriersbased on the linked beam configuration information and the other beamconfiguration information (e.g., delta beam configuration information,etc.). Although not illustrated, end device 180 may generate andtransmit a message pertaining to the RRC Connection Reconfigurationprocedure, may perform a random access procedure relative to gNB 210,and may establish a radio connection with gNB 210.

Although FIGS. 2A-2E illustrate an exemplary process of the beamconfiguration management service, according to other exemplaryembodiments, the process may include additional, different, and/or fewersteps, and/or include additional, different, and/or fewer messages. Forexample, according to an exemplary SA scenario, gNB 210 may generate andtransmit an RRC Reconfiguration message, which includes beamconfiguration information, to end device 180 as a part of an attachmentprocedure with end device 180. For example, gNB 210 may transmit the RRCReconfiguration message subsequent to end device 180 successfullycompleting authentication and security with core network 150.Additionally, according to other exemplary scenarios, an RRCReconfiguration message may be transmitted as a part of an RRCconnection re-establishment procedure.

FIGS. 3A-3D are diagrams illustrating another exemplary process of anexemplary embodiment of the beam configuration management service. Asillustrated, an environment 300, which is consistent with environment100, access network 105 includes an eNB 205 and gNB 210. FIGS. 3A-3Drelate to an exemplary NSA scenario. However, as described herein, thebeam configuration management service may be used in a SA context.

Referring to FIG. 3A, assume that steps previously described in relationto FIG. 2A have been performed, and in response to receiving an additionrequest, gNB 210 may calculate beam configuration for end device 180based on network configuration and end device capability information305.

As previously described, according an exemplary embodiment, the beamconfiguration management service includes a control plane message thathas default beam configuration information. In this regard, gNB 210 mayselect a default beam configuration for carriers based on the networkconfiguration and end device capability information. For example, agrouping of beam management parameters that have the same or similarconfiguration across carriers may be included in a default beammanagement IE. For any beam-management IE that has mostly differentconfigurations across carriers, a separate per-carrier configuration maybe added (e.g., in an IE). For example, gNB 210 may calculate oridentify any difference values pertaining to parameters included in thedefault beam configuration, and determine any parameters to add, whichmay not be included in the default configuration, relative to anycarrier.

As described below according to exemplary representation of data thatmay be included in a control plane message that includes default beamconfigurations (also referred to as message 4). For example, theBeam-Management IEs A and B may have the same or similar configurationsacross the carriers, so gNB 210 may include these in thedefaultBeamManagementConfigAcrossCarriers. However, the Beam-ManagementIE C has mostly different configurations across the carriers, so suchconfigurations may be indicated in SpCellConfig. In addition, there maybe differences in Beam Management IE A for serving cell id X compared tothe default configuration indicated in Beam-Management IE A ofdefaultBeamManagementConfigAcrossCarriers. In this regard, sCellConfigfor serving cell id X may indicate delta configuration ofBeam-Management IE A for serving cell id X. Similarly, there may bedifferences in Beam-Management IE B for serving cell id Y compared tothe default configuration indicated in Beam-Management IE B ofdefaultBeamManagementConfigAcrossCarriers. In this regard, sCellConfigfor serving cell id Y may indicate delta configuration ofBeam-Management IE B for serving cell id Y.

//Beam-Management IEs that have the same or similar configurationsacross carriers are included in thedefaultBeamManagementConfigAcrossCarriersdefaultBeamManagementConfigAcrossCarriers { Beam-Management IE-ABeam-Management IE-B ... } //For SpCell, the configuration fromdefaultBeamManagmentConfigAcrossCarriers for Beam-Management IEs A andB, and the configuration from SpCellConfig for Beam- Management IE C maybe used. SpCellConfig { Beam-Management IE C ... } //For serving cell IDX, the configuration from defaultBeamManagementConfigAcrossCarriers forBeam-Management IE B, and the configuration from sCellConfig forBeam-Management IE C may be used. sCellConfig { servingCellid: XBeam-Management IE A (only the delta configuration compared with thedefault configuration is included) Beam-Management IE C ... } //Forserving cell ID Y, the configuration fromdefaultBeamManagementConfigAcrossCarriers for Beam-Management IE A, andthe configuration from sCellConfig for Beam-Management IE C may be used.For Beam- Management IE B, the configuration fromdefaultBeamManagementConfigAcrossCarriers will be used but updated bythe delta configuration from sCellConfig. sCellConfig { servingCellid: YBeam-Management IE B (only the delta configuration compared with thedefault configuration is included) Beam-Management IE C ... } ...

Referring to FIG. 3B, gNB 210 may generate and transmit a message, whichincludes the beam configuration information 310, to eNB 205. Accordingto an exemplary implementation, the message may be included in anaddition request acknowledgment message associated with the secondarynode addition procedure. According to other exemplary implementations,the message may be that is not part of the secondary node additionprocedure.

Referring to FIG. 3C, in response to receiving the message, eNB 205 mayinvoke an RRC Connection Reconfiguration procedure. For example, eNB 205may generate and transmit an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message,which includes the beam configuration information 315, to end device180. The RRC Reconfiguration message 317 may include one or multiple IEsthat provide beam configuration for carriers, as described herein. Enddevice 180 may receive the RRC Reconfiguration message 320.

Referring to FIG. 3D, in response to receiving the RRC Reconfigurationmessage, end device 180 includes logic of the beam configurationmanagement service to extract and use the beam configuration informationto configure beam management functions 325. For example, end device 180may analyze and use the beam management configuration for all carriersbased on the default configuration information and the other beamconfiguration information (e.g., delta beam configuration information,etc.). Although not illustrated, end device 180 may generate andtransmit a message pertaining to the RRC Connection Reconfigurationprocedure, may perform a random access procedure relative to gNB 210,and may establish a radio connection with gNB 210.

Although FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate another exemplary process of the beamconfiguration management service, according to other exemplaryembodiments, the process may include additional, different, and/or fewersteps, and/or include additional, different, and/or fewer messages. Forexample, according to an exemplary SA scenario, gNB 210 may generate andtransmit an RRC Reconfiguration message, which includes beamconfiguration information, to end device 180 as a part of an attachmentprocedure with end device 180. For example, gNB 210 may transmit the RRCReconfiguration message subsequent to end device 180 successfullycompleting authentication and security with core network 150.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of a device 400that may be included in one or more of the devices described herein. Forexample, device 400 may correspond to components included in accessdevices 110, core devices 155, end device 180, eNB 205, and gNB 210. Asillustrated in FIG. 4 , device 400 includes a bus 405, a processor 410,a memory/storage 415 that stores software 420, a communication interface425, an input 430, and an output 435. According to other embodiments,device 400 may include fewer components, additional components,different components, and/or a different arrangement of components thanthose illustrated in FIG. 4 and described herein.

Bus 405 includes a path that permits communication among the componentsof device 400. For example, bus 405 may include a system bus, an addressbus, a data bus, and/or a control bus. Bus 405 may also include busdrivers, bus arbiters, bus interfaces, clocks, and so forth.

Processor 410 includes one or multiple processors, microprocessors, dataprocessors, co-processors, application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), controllers, programmable logic devices, chipsets,field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specificinstruction-set processors (ASIPs), system-on-chips (SoCs), centralprocessing units (CPUs) (e.g., one or multiple cores), microcontrollers,and/or some other type of component that interprets and/or executesinstructions and/or data. Processor 410 may be implemented as hardware(e.g., a microprocessor, etc.), a combination of hardware and software(e.g., a SoC, an ASIC, etc.), may include one or multiple memories(e.g., cache, etc.), etc.

Processor 410 may control the overall operation or a portion ofoperation(s) performed by device 400. Processor 410 may perform one ormultiple operations based on an operating system and/or variousapplications or computer programs (e.g., software 420). Processor 410may access instructions from memory/storage 415, from other componentsof device 400, and/or from a source external to device 400 (e.g., anetwork, another device, etc.). Processor 410 may perform an operationand/or a process based on various techniques including, for example,multithreading, parallel processing, pipelining, interleaving, etc.

Memory/storage 415 includes one or multiple memories and/or one ormultiple other types of storage mediums. For example, memory/storage 415may include one or multiple types of memories, such as, a random accessmemory (RAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static randomaccess memory (SRAM), a cache, a read only memory (ROM), a programmableread only memory (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM(EEPROM), a single in-line memory module (SIMM), a dual in-line memorymodule (DIMM), a flash memory (e.g., 2D, 3D, NOR, NAND, etc.), a solidstate memory, and/or some other type of memory. Memory/storage 415 mayinclude a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, amagneto-optic disk, a solid state disk, etc.), a Micro-ElectromechanicalSystem (MEMS)-based storage medium, and/or a nanotechnology-basedstorage medium. Memory/storage 415 may include drives for reading fromand writing to the storage medium.

Memory/storage 415 may be external to and/or removable from device 400,such as, for example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory stick, adongle, a hard disk, mass storage, off-line storage, or some other typeof storing medium (e.g., a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk(DVD), a Blu-Ray disk (BD), etc.). Memory/storage 415 may store data,software, and/or instructions related to the operation of device 400.

Software 420 includes an application or a program that provides afunction and/or a process. As an example, with respect access device 110(e.g., eNB 205, gNB 210, etc.), software 420 may include an applicationthat, when executed by processor 410, provides a function of the beamconfiguration management service, as described herein. Additionally,with reference to end device 180 or another network device, software 420may include an application that, when executed by processor 410,provides a function of the beam configuration management service, asdescribed herein. Software 420 may also include firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language (HDL), and/or other form ofinstruction. Software 420 may also be virtualized. Software 420 mayfurther include an operating system (OS) (e.g., Windows, Linux, Android,proprietary, etc.).

Communication interface 425 permits device 400 to communicate with otherdevices, networks, systems, and/or the like. Communication interface 425includes one or multiple wireless interfaces and/or wired interfaces.For example, communication interface 425 may include one or multipletransmitters and receivers, or transceivers. Communication interface 425may operate according to a protocol stack and a communication standard.Communication interface 425 may include an antenna. Communicationinterface 425 may include various processing logic or circuitry (e.g.,multiplexing/de-multiplexing, filtering, amplifying, converting, errorcorrection, application programming interface (API), etc.).Communication interface 425 may be implemented as a point-to-pointinterface, a service based interface, etc.

Input 430 permits an input into device 400. For example, input 430 mayinclude a keyboard, a mouse, a display, a touchscreen, a touchlessscreen, a button, a switch, an input port, speech recognition logic,and/or some other type of visual, auditory, tactile, etc., inputcomponent. Output 435 permits an output from device 400. For example,output 435 may include a speaker, a display, a touchscreen, a touchlessscreen, a light, an output port, and/or some other type of visual,auditory, tactile, etc., output component.

As previously described, a network device may be implemented accordingto various computing architectures (e.g., in a cloud, etc.) andaccording to various network architectures (e.g., a virtualizedfunction, etc.). Device 400 may be implemented in the same manner. Forexample, device 400 may be instantiated, spun up, spun down, etc., usingwell-known virtualization techniques in a public/private cloud or othertype of network.

Device 400 may perform a process and/or a function, as described herein,in response to processor 410 executing software 420 stored bymemory/storage 415. By way of example, instructions may be read intomemory/storage 415 from another memory/storage 415 (not shown) or readfrom another device (not shown) via communication interface 425. Theinstructions stored by memory/storage 415 cause processor 410 to performa process described herein. Alternatively, for example, according toother implementations, device 400 performs a process described hereinbased on the execution of hardware (processor 410, etc.).

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process 500 of anexemplary embodiment of the beam configuration management service.According to an exemplary embodiment, a network device of access network105 performs steps of process 500. For example, the network device maybe a gNB. Additionally, for example, processor 410 may execute software420 to perform a step illustrated in FIG. 5 and described herein.Additionally, or alternatively, a step illustrated in FIG. 5 may beperformed by execution of only hardware. Process 500 may be performed inrelation to SA and NSA scenarios.

In block 505, end device capability information of an end device may beobtained. For example, gNB 210 may obtain end device capabilityinformation from core device 155 or end device 180. In block 510,network configuration information may be calculated. For example, gNB210 may calculate network configuration information relating to beamconfiguration management based on an end device measurement report,pre-configured network parameters, channel state information, and theend device capability information. In block 515, configurationredundancies across carriers may be analyzed based on networkconfiguration information. For example, gNB 210 may analyzeconfigurations between cells/carriers (e.g., primary and secondary) andidentify configurations that are the same. In block 520, redundantconfigurations that are identified may be linked. For example, gNB 210may generate beam configuration information pertaining to the primarycell and linking data (e.g., a single bit pertaining to a secondarycell). In block 525, it may be determined whether there are deltaconfigurations. For example, gNB 210 may determine whether there issecondary cell that has a beam configuration different from the primarycell.

When it is determined that there is no delta configuration (block525—NO), process 500 may continue to block 535. When it is determinedthat there is delta configuration (block 525—YES), delta configurationpertaining to the primary cell or the secondary cell may be generated(block 530). For example, gNB 210 may generate delta configurationsrelative to the primary cell or the secondary cell as described inrelation to message 2 or message 3. gNB 210 may select between message 2or message 3 based on which cell (primary or secondary) theconfiguration is to be linked.

In block 535, a control plane message, which includes beam configurationinformation, may be generated and transmitted to the end device. Forexample, gNB 210 may generate the control plane message (e.g., RRCConnection Reconfiguration message) and transmit the message to enddevice 180.

Although FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary process 500 of the beamconfiguration management service, according to other embodiments,process 500 may include additional operations, fewer operations, and/ordifferent operations than those illustrated in FIG. 5 , and describedherein. For example, according to other exemplary embodiments, the beamconfiguration management service may select a control plane message(e.g., an IE) based on other factors, such as congestion level in theRAN. Additionally, or alternatively, gNB 210 may generate the beamconfiguration information and includes this information in anacknowledgement or other control plane message to another access device110, and the other access device 110 may transmit the control planemessage to end device 180. Additionally, for example, end device 180 mayreceive the control plane message and use the beam configurationinformation to establish a radio connection.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating another exemplary process 600 ofan exemplary embodiment of the beam configuration management service.According to an exemplary embodiment, a network device of access network105 performs steps of process 600. For example, the network device maybe a gNB. Additionally, for example, processor 410 may execute software420 to perform a step illustrated in FIG. 6 and described herein.Additionally, or alternatively, a step illustrated in FIG. 6 may beperformed by execution of only hardware. Process 600 may be performed inrelation to SA and NSA scenarios.

In block 605, end device capability information of an end device may beobtained. For example, gNB 210 may obtain end device capabilityinformation from core device 155 or end device 180. In block 610,network configuration information may be calculated. For example, gNB210 may calculate network configuration information relating to beamconfiguration management based on an end device measurement report,pre-configured network parameters, channel state information, and theend device capability information.

In block 615, parameters that have the same or similar configurationacross carriers may be selected. For example, gNB 210 may generate beamconfiguration information pertaining to primary and secondary cells thathave the same or similar configurations. In block 620, it may bedetermined whether there are delta configurations. For example, gNB 210may determine whether there are delta configurations between defaultbeam configuration and the primary cell and/or the secondary cell, asdescribed in relation to message 4.

When it is determined that there is no delta configuration (block620—NO), process 600 may continue to block 630. When it is determinedthat there is delta configuration (block 620—YES), delta configurationpertaining to the primary cell or the secondary cell may be generated(block 625). For example, gNB 210 may generate delta configurationsrelative to the default beam configuration message as described inrelation to message 4.

In block 630, a control plane message, which includes beam configurationinformation, may be generated and transmitted to the end device. Forexample, gNB 210 may generate the control plane message (e.g., RRCConnection Reconfiguration message) and transmit the message to enddevice 180.

Although FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary process 600 of the beamconfiguration management service, according to other embodiments,process 600 may include additional operations, fewer operations, and/ordifferent operations than those illustrated in FIG. 6 , and describedherein. For example, according to other exemplary embodiments, the beamconfiguration management service may select a control plane message(e.g., an IE) based on other factors, such as congestion level in theRAN. Additionally, or alternatively, gNB 210 may generate the beamconfiguration information and include this information in anacknowledgement or other control plane message to another access device110, and the other access device 110 may transmit the control planemessage to end device 180. Additionally, for example, end device 180 mayreceive the control plane message and use the beam configurationinformation to establish a radio connection.

As set forth in this description and illustrated by the drawings,reference is made to “an exemplary embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“embodiments,” etc., which may include a particular feature, structureor characteristic in connection with an embodiment(s). However, the useof the phrase or term “an embodiment,” “embodiments,” etc., in variousplaces in the specification does not necessarily refer to allembodiments described, nor does it necessarily refer to the sameembodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarilymutually exclusive of other embodiment(s). The same applies to the term“implementation,” “implementations,” etc.

The foregoing description of embodiments provides illustration, but isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the preciseform disclosed. Accordingly, modifications to the embodiments describedherein may be possible. For example, various modifications and changesmay be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented,without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forthin the claims that follow. For example, although control plane messagesthat include beam configuration information have been described, othertypes of configuration parameters and IEs pertaining to other aspects ofwireless service between the network and end devices may be used. Inthis way, control plane messaging overhead and resource utilization fromboth the network-side and the end device-side may be optimized. Thedescription and drawings are accordingly to be regarded as illustrativerather than restrictive.

The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to be interpreted to includeone or more items. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to beinterpreted as “based, at least in part, on,” unless explicitly statedotherwise. The term “and/or” is intended to be interpreted to includeany and all combinations of one or more of the associated items. Theword “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example.” Anyembodiment or implementation described as “exemplary” is not necessarilyto be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments orimplementations.

In addition, while a series of blocks has been described with regard toa process illustrated in FIG. 5 , the order of the blocks may bemodified according to other embodiments. Further, non-dependent blocksmay be performed in parallel. Additionally, other processes described inthis description may be modified and/or non-dependent operations may beperformed in parallel.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented in many different formsof software executed by hardware. For example, a process or a functionmay be implemented as “logic,” a “component,” or an “element.” Thelogic, the component, or the element, may include, for example, hardware(e.g., processor 410, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software(e.g., software 420).

Embodiments have been described without reference to the specificsoftware code because the software code can be designed to implement theembodiments based on the description herein and commercially availablesoftware design environments and/or languages. For example, varioustypes of programming languages including, for example, a compiledlanguage, an interpreted language, a declarative language, or aprocedural language may be implemented.

Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in theclaims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote anypriority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another, thetemporal order in which acts of a method are performed, the temporalorder in which instructions executed by a device are performed, etc.,but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having acertain name from another element having a same name (but for use of theordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.

Additionally, embodiments described herein may be implemented as anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores data and/orinformation, such as instructions, program code, a data structure, aprogram module, an application, a script, or other known or conventionalform suitable for use in a computing environment. The program code,instructions, application, etc., is readable and executable by aprocessor (e.g., processor 410) of a device. A non-transitory storagemedium includes one or more of the storage mediums described in relationto memory/storage 415.

To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store or employpersonal information of individuals, it should be understood that suchinformation shall be collected, stored, and used in accordance with allapplicable laws concerning protection of personal information.Additionally, the collection, storage and use of such information can besubject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example,through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as can be appropriatefor the situation and type of information. Collection, storage, and useof personal information can be in an appropriately secure mannerreflective of the type of information, for example, through variousencryption and anonymization techniques for particularly sensitiveinformation.

No element, act, or instruction set forth in this description should beconstrued as critical or essential to the embodiments described hereinunless explicitly indicated as such.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects set forth in this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Noclaim element of a claim is to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f)unless the claim element expressly includes the phrase “means for” or“step for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: analyzing, by a networkdevice, network configuration information for configuration redundanciesthat are common across carriers that include at least one primary celland at least one secondary cell; calculating, by the network devicebased on the analyzing, first beam configuration information pertainingto the at least one primary cell and second beam configurationinformation indicating to use the first beam configuration informationby the at least one secondary cell; determining, by the network devicebased on the analyzing, that there is beam configuration informationpertaining to secondary cells of the at least one secondary cell that isdifferent from the first beam configuration information; andcalculating, by the network device, third beam configuration informationindicating a beam configuration that is common across carriers of thesecondary cells.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting, by the network device, a control plane message thatincludes the first beam configuration information, the second beamconfiguration information, and the third beam configuration information,to an end device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the third beamconfiguration information pertains to transmission configurationindicator (TCI) data or channel state information-reference signal(CSI-RS) resource data.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the third beamconfiguration information indicates to discard one or more beamconfigurations of the first beam configuration information, and to useone or more replacement beam configurations by the one or more of the atleast one secondary cell.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:obtaining, by the network device, end device capability informationpertaining to an end device; and calculating, by the network device, thenetwork configuration information based on the end device capabilityinformation.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the third beamconfiguration information indicates a cell identifier of one of thesecondary cells that is used to link a remaining of the secondary cells.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the network device is a nextgeneration Node B (gNB).
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:generating, by the network device, a radio resource control (RRC)message that includes the first beam configuration information, thesecond beam configuration information, and the third beam configurationinformation.
 9. A network device comprising: a processor that isconfigured to: analyze network configuration information forconfiguration redundancies that are common across carriers that includeat least one primary cell and at least one secondary cell; calculate,based on the analysis, first beam configuration information pertainingto the at least one primary cell and second beam configurationinformation indicating to use the first beam configuration informationby the at least one secondary cell; determine, based on the analysis,that there is beam configuration information pertaining to secondarycells of the at least one secondary cell that is different from thefirst beam configuration information; and calculate third beamconfiguration information indicating a beam configuration that is commonacross carriers of the secondary cells.
 10. The network device of claim9, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit a controlplane message that includes the first beam configuration information,the second beam configuration information, and the third beamconfiguration information, to an end device.
 11. The network device ofclaim 9, wherein the third beam configuration information pertains totransmission configuration indicator (TCI) data or channel stateinformation-reference signal (CSI-RS) resource data.
 12. The networkdevice of claim 9, wherein the third beam configuration informationindicates to discard one or more beam configurations of the first beamconfiguration information, and to use one or more replacement beamconfigurations by the one or more of the at least one secondary cell.13. The network device of claim 9, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: obtain end device capability information pertaining to anend device; and calculate the network configuration information based onthe end device capability information.
 14. The network device of claim9, wherein the third beam configuration information indicates a cellidentifier of one of the secondary cells that is used to link aremaining of the secondary cells.
 15. The network device of claim 9,wherein the network device is a next generation Node B (gNB).
 16. Thenetwork device of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configuredto: generate a radio resource control (RRC) message that includes thefirst beam configuration information, the second beam configurationinformation, and the third beam configuration information.
 17. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructionsexecutable by a processor of a device, which when executed cause thedevice to: analyze network configuration information for configurationredundancies that are common across carriers that include at least oneprimary cell and at least one secondary cell; calculate, based on theanalysis, first beam configuration information pertaining to the atleast one primary cell and second beam configuration informationindicating to use the first beam configuration information by the atleast one secondary cell; determine, based on the analysis, that thereis beam configuration information pertaining to secondary cells of theat least one secondary cell that is different from the first beamconfiguration information; and calculate third beam configurationinformation indicating a beam configuration that is common acrosscarriers of the secondary cells.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the third beamconfiguration information indicates a cell identifier of one of thesecondary cells that is used to link a remaining of the secondary cells.19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17,wherein the third beam configuration information indicates to discardone or more beam configurations of the first beam configurationinformation, and to use one or more replacement beam configurations bythe one or more of the at least one secondary cell.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein thedevice is a next generation Node B (gNB).